“If we find ourselves constantly waiting on God to bring us into another season of blessing, it may be that the initial blessing only came to reveal how addicted to blessings we have become.”- Wayne Stiles
As Dr. Wayne Stiles continues Chapter 3 of Waiting on God, he stresses the huge difference between waiting on God’s blessings and waiting on God. To our thinking, the two appear synonymous. However, they are not. Consequently, Dr. Stiles describes the necessity of finding comfort in God:
“After all, when we’re grieving anything in life, if we don’t run to God for comfort, we will turn somewhere else for consolation, distraction, or satisfaction.”
In contrast, consider Joseph’s straightforward response to the equally straightforward proposition from Potiphar’s wife:
But he refused. “With me in charge,” he told her, “my master does not concern himself with anything in the house; everything he owns he has entrusted to my care. No one is greater in this house than I am. My master has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?”- Genesis 39:8-9 (NIV)
Joseph flatly turned down Potiphar’s wife and told her why. Joseph refused to abandon God.
Furthermore, Dr. Stiles cautions, avoiding any specific temptation requires more than a simple onetime decision. Avoiding temptation “demands a ruthless, daily, moment-by-moment commitment. In other words, you must say no with your mind long before the time comes to say no with your words.
The apostle Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 10:5- “We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ.”
Today’s question: In what ways, if any, have you become addicted to blessings? Please share.
Tomorrow’s blog: “Tough circumstances”
